


Confusion Aside

by The_WritersBlock



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Complete, Completed, Crossover, Gen, I mean everyone here has major potty mouth what do you expect, Markiplier - Freeform, Post-Who Killed Markiplier?, Sanders Sides - Freeform, Some light violence, Sympathetic Deceit Sanders, YouTube, cursing, jacksepticeye - Freeform, mentions of manipulation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-16
Updated: 2018-12-30
Packaged: 2019-09-20 00:17:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 18,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17011881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_WritersBlock/pseuds/The_WritersBlock
Summary: Mark and Jack have a pact. Kinda. See, ever since their egos began to exist they decided they they would keep an eye on any new egos that creators or their fans create. And they've done a good job keeping YouTubers and others safe up until now. But this is different. Thomas Sanders' "Sides" seem to hold a little too much sway over their creator for Mark and Jack's liking. And what's worse, their own ego's are getting intrigued. Specifically, the violent ones.





	1. The Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time posting on AO3 so I hope I'm doing this right. Feel free to comment and give me tips or pointers on how to work this site!

Mark shifted in his seat, "You completely sure they won't interrupt us?” 

Jack groaned. "I sure as hell hope so. I gave 'em all good reason to be out of the house today.."

Mark shifted again, his eyes glancing over the faint scar on Jack's neck. "What about Anti?"

Jack scowled, rolling his eyes a bit. "I told 'em that he could play with Dark all day if he wanted. Let's hope the bastard doesn't get suspicious." He shook his head, moving his brown hair out of his eyes. "But you never know with that fucker."

Mark sighed. "You're lucky to only have one real troublemaker out of your group." He rested his chin on his palm, shaking his head. "I've got murderers to spare on my side." Mark trailed off as the doorbell rang. The pair of them shared a glance, before Jack stood up and pocketed his phone.

"We know it's Thomas 'cus none of mine even know the doorbell exists!" Jack reached the door and pulled it open fast, catching Thomas off-guard.

Thomas shook off his initial jumpiness and smiled widely as Jack pulled him into a hug. "Hi! I'm glad we could finally meet!" Thomas pulled away at the sight of Mark standing at the end of the room. He grinned again and walked past Jack to give the other youtuber a hug. Jack raised an eyebrow, glancing around outside before closing the door with a puzzled expression.

Mark pulled away, gesturing towards the couch. "Wanna sit down?"

Thomas flashed another smile, nodding, "Oh, yeah. We should probably get right into it." He walked over to the couch and sat down with a plop as the other two seated themselves across from him.

Jack spoke up tentatively. "Um... I thought... You were bringing your egos with you? Did you decide against it?"

Thomas shook his head. "What do you mean?" 

Jack chuckled, gesturing around the room. "I mean, unless they can turn invisible..." 

Thomas shrugged. "I think my sides work a little differently than yours. Mine just kinda... live inside my head I guess..." When he saw the look Mark and Jack gave him he rubbed the back of his neck self-consciously. "Is that... not normal?" Jack stared at Thomas. Could this be another Anti situation? Was Thomas being possessed by his egos? If that was true, Jack thought, it might be worse with Thomas than they had previously imagined. He fought the urge to bring his hand to his neck. They could deal with possession if they needed to. They had done it before.

Mark's words stuttered out curtly, "Waitwaitwait. They're... inside of you? You said you can speak with them, how does that work?"

Thomas tilted his head to the side. "Well... When they want to, they can form themselves outside of my body. That way it's easier when we make decisions."

Jack's head snapped up. "Decisions? What decisions are they making?"

Thomas nodded, "Well, each of them control certain aspects of me. And whenever we need to decide on something to do, they come out and debate the best solution to the situation." He fumbled with his hair, missing the look that Mark and Jack gave each other. "Usually they just tell me things from inside my brain. It would be kinda weird if they were out in public, ya know?"

Jack squinted slightly. "Are they... talking right now?"

Thomas chuckled. "Yeah. Virgil says you're asking a lot of questions."

Mark gulped, shifting his eyes away from Thomas. He felt like he was being watched. "Can...can we see one of them?" He hurried to correct himself, in case one of Thomas's egos took it as an invitation. "The least threatening, maybe?"

Another entity popped into existence next to Thomas almost immediately. Their faces were identical, save for a pair of glasses. His smile looked innocent enough, but both knew it was never good to underestimate any ego. Especially one that seemed to me free of their Creator's input. It wasn't lost on them that Thomas hadn't even said a word, much less confirmation or a command.

"This is Patton," Thomas explained, "He represents my morality and my feelings. You know, right and wrong kinda stuff."

Mark hummed in thought. "So, Patton controls what you...feel?"

The rambunctious ego nodded. "Kinda! I'm the core of all his feelings! If I care about it, so does he. I'm kinda like the heart of Thomas, I hold all of his emotions!" Jack didn't feel that was right. His past experience with puppetry only tainted this ego. Who gave him the right to decide what Thomas feels? It couldn't be very pleasant. Although, after meeting with him, Jack knew why he would be considered the least threatening. He seemed to be more of a Chase or Marvin, especially with the cat hoodie he was wearing around his neck.

Jack nodded, deciding that he had had enough of this ego. He turned to the other person on the couch. "Thomas, can you tell Patton to go back?" Thomas nodded and gave Patton a pointed look.

The fatherly ego pouted. "But I just got here, Kiddo!" As Thomas shook his head, the pout turned into a look of resignation. "Ok then, just call if you need me!" Then, the ego stood to his feet and seemed to sink down through the floor.

Thomas turned his gaze back to the pair across from him. "What other questions do you have? Would you prefer to ask another one of my sides?"

Mark shook his head. "No that's fine! All of them can stay, please." He sighed. "I do want to know something..." Thomas met Mark's eyes as the raven-haired man spoke. "How many do you have?"

Thomas visibly shifted in his seat. He muttered something imperceptible, before speaking loudly and abruptly, "Four. I mean-" He silenced himself as his hand flew up to cover his mouth. He shoved it away with a huff. "I don't know how many there are exactly. But we know for sure about...five." The number fell from his lips as if it had been held behind a dam. Thomas sighed in what seemed like relief.

Jack crossed his arms, "May I ask what the fuck that was?"

Mark reiterated the question. "Did one of them force you to say four? Do they have control over your limbs? Are you actually Thomas speaking to us right now?" Before Thomas could answer, the three of them heard a chilling giggle from the door frame, now bathed in light from outside.

"Another puppet?" Anti's voice carried over the room easily, despite the distortion in his tone.

Thomas jumped, muttering a quiet, "Calm down," and stood to join Jack and Mark. He noticed the resemblance between the newcomer and Jack and assumed that this was one of Jack's sides. Thomas was about to greet them, but realized Virgil's inner turmoil was well grounded. The side in the doorway held a knife, twirling it slowly between their hazy fingers. Thomas's eyes tried to focus on their entire figure, but they seemed to sway and morph, their form disappearing and reappearing at different intervals. Thomas turned around again to look at Jack, but winced when Virgil's voice cut through his brain, loud and deep, "Keep your eyes on him! He might try something!" Thomas obeyed, yelling in surprise when his gaze met that of Jack’s side, who was now standing only inches away.

The glitching side giggled and Jack snapped out of his surprise, yelling loudly, “Anti! I thought I told you not to bother us today!” 

Anti’s eyes turned onto his creator for the first time. He crawled up onto the back of the couch, crouching on his toes. The knife dangled from a loose hand in between his legs, swaying ever-so-slightly. “From what I remember, you told me I could go play with Darkiepoo. Ya never said ya wanted me out of the house.” Anti tilted his head slightly, darkened eyes studying the new guy. “Dark mentioned that you’ve never just let me go over there willingly, and that piqued my interest.” Anti chuckled again, “Of course, he was probably just trying to get me to leave, but I’m glad I did.” He slid down the front of the couch and sat cross-legged, the knife now in the enclosed fist he used to support his cheek. “So, Jack,” Anti leaned forward almost imperceptibly, but it made Thomas take a full step back. “Did you find us some more friends?" The silence that followed his statement made him let out a long, throaty laugh that scratched at everyone’s throats as well as his own. “I guess that’s a yes.” Anti let out a chilling laugh.

Suddenly, Anti lunged, knife glinting in the light coming from the window. His knife made a ting as it collided with the steel of a sword that seemed to have been summoned out of thin air. Well, Jack corrected himself, the sword was a byproduct of what actually had appeared. Thomas had been pushed out of the way. In his place, was another ego. He wore a white tunic with a blood-red sash cutting across his chest, with gold accents spicing up the display.

They studied the newcomer for only a moment before he spoke in a loud voice that was surprisingly buttery and laced with emotion that Thomas hadn’t seemed to exhibit. “Feind! You attack Thomas unprovoked! Why would you do this only moments after meeting him?!” The sashed ego thrust his sword at Anti, but he teleported behind the couch, resting on it casually.

The Septic ego shrugged as he observed the other, grinning from gauge to gauge. “Just curious, is all. Wanted to see what the new guy had up his sleeve.” By then, Thomas had stood up. Mark made sure he was alright, while Jack stepped forward, next to the sword-wielding ego.

“Anti, this is unacceptable. Thomas is our guest here. You can’t just attack people like that.” Anti rolled his eyes at his creator’s input.

“I wasn’t actually gonna hurt him, dumbass. If none of his stupid egos showed up I would’ve stopped.” Anti punctuated his words with a heavy sigh and another roll of his eyes.

Jack was about to speak again, but Thomas’s ego cut him off quite animatedly. “Well I never! You attack Thomas just for the...the quenching of your curiosity?!" He didn't let Anti make a rebuttal, instead making his sword disappear with a flourish. "You, sir-" 

"You, sir, have caused way too much trouble for the time being!" Patton appeared next to Jack with his scolding tone, making him jump. 

Patton advanced on Anti, Thomas trying to reach out for him. But Roman stood in his way, placing a hand to his chest and shaking his head. "Pops has this one, Thomathy."

Everyone watched as Patton practically knocked over the couch when he climbed over it, snapping his fingers on the way. "Let me STEEL that knife from ya, kiddo." Before Mark and Jack's eyes, the knife disappeared out of Anti's hand.

"You fucker! What did you do?!" Anti jumped at Patton, but the side snapped his fingers decisively. A gigantic cat wrapped its tail around Anti's waist, catching him and lifting him in the air. "What the hell?!"

Patton giggled, waving a hand. "Cat got your tongue?" His expression turned into a slight frown when Anti let out another string of curse words, beating at thin air. "You've got some claws on you, mister." Patton snapped his fingers again, and a giant dog replaced the cat, its leash attached to Anti by a harness. The dog walked over to the corner of the room and sat down, dragging a kicking and screaming Anti all the way. Patton turned around to see a grinning Roman and a relieved Thomas.

"Great job, Patton!" Roman turned to address the other two youtubers, bowing with a wide grin. "Prince Roman at your service! Call me whenever you need help with another villain!" Then, as quickly as he had appeared, Roman sank into the ground.

Patton jumped forward and gave both Mark and Jack a hug. "I'm glad I got to meet THREE new friends today!!" He practically squealed in excitement, wiggling his shoulders. Then, he spoke to Thomas, waving to him as he sank out again. "Bye Kiddo! Talk later, ok?"

Thomas waved back, then directed his attention back to Mark and Jack, who's mouths were catching flies. The pair turned to look at each other, before turning back to Thomas, speaking at the same time, "What the hell was that?!"


	2. Party Crashers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Robbie's birthday and they're holding it at the Iplier mansion! What could possibly go wrong when some unexpected guests arrive? 
> 
> Everything.

“Well,” Thought Mark, “Here goes nothing.” With a deep breath, Mark opened the front door and stepped into the brightly lit living area. As he had expected, it was already chaos. The entire headquarters was a mess, filled to the brim with egos from both sides. Distant yelling could be heard from one of the many floors above him. A haze filled the air, and with it the strong smell of burning. He followed the smoke to the source, where it suspiciously emanated from the kitchen. Mark was just about to go investigate, when Jack sprinted out from one of the many connecting hallways and practically slammed into him.

“Where the fuck have you been?!” Jack was breathing heavily, probably from the running. “With you gone, all of yours have no one to keep them in check! Anti's been fightin Dark all evenin!” As if on cue, the lights flickered slightly green, then back to normal again. Jack raised his arms, gesturing around him as if to prove his point. 

Mark sighed, lifting up the bag that was overflowing with gift paper. “I forgot to get Robbie his present the other day.” Jack's face softened at the sight, looking over his shoulder to view the mess that was Robbie's birthday party. He took the gift gingerly, then walked to place it on a table that was already piled high with presents of all shapes and sizes. 

Jack looked over the table, then took a deep breath, facing Mark again. “Call Dark. We need to get everyone organized.” Jack closed his eyes, and Anti appeared next to him. Mark followed suit, reaching out to his most dangerous ego. The room went pitch black for a split second, then Dark was sitting on the couch, sipping on what Mark hoped was wine. 

The suited ego's eyes flitted over to Anti, then to Mark. “Yes?” His voice echoed and dipped, reverberating around the room. The normally bright couch was turning a dismal shade of grey, as well as the floor where one of Dark's feet lay. 

Suprising everyone, Jack strode across the room unabashedly and flipped Dark off, scowling, “You two haven't made this party a cake walk, you know.” 

Anti chimed in unhelpfully, his body glitching in time with his giggles, “That Dr. and Chase burnt the cake. Poor Brody wouldn't stop sobbing.” 

Jack swiveled on him, clearly not in the mood for taking his shit today. “I can fucking see that, now if you could just get your act together and please actually help me for once, that'd be great.” Jack addressed Dark now, placing his hands on his hips as he did so. “Can you tell Google to fuse again? He isn't helping the situation, considering 2/5ths of him is malfunctioning and smashing everything in sight. Also, please get King off the roof.” He looked up, nodding in satisfaction when he saw the speakers imbedded in the ceiling. “Anti. Call everyone in here. We have to start doing something now, or else Robbie won’t have a party.” 

The two egos didn’t move. They just sat there looking at each other. Anti shrugged, looking at his elongated nails nonchalantly, “And who says I have to listen to you? I don’t remem-” The glitchy ego was interrupted by a small thump coming from the stairs. Before their eyes the birthday boy emerged from the stairwell, dragging a large, fluffy blanket behind him. He was also dragging one of his arms on the tail of the blanket, but that didn’t get as much attention as his mere entrance did. 

His grey eyes moved slowly around the room, before landing on Anti. The zombie shuffled over to the other ego, burying his face into his chest. “Anti? Why are you angry?” The mellow ego could sense things better than most with that nose of his, as well as feel moods through touch. No one knew how he had aquired his unassuming abilities, but Jack suspected it had been from his own emotional, sensitive side. Robbie looked up at Anti’s face, straightening and putting his available hand on his shoulder. “What’s wrong?” Despite his stunted speach and slightly slurred letters, he got his point across. Mark’s heart melted at the sight. Despite it being Robbie’s birthday, he was far more concerned about his brother’s well-being. And, Mark was willing to bet, the zombie hadn’t even noticed the pile of gifts on the table behind him.

Anti finally answered him, sighing, “I’m just angry that Dark hasn’t gotten off his ass, is all.” Anti’s sentence got more aggressive as he finished it, turning around to glare at the manipulative ego on the couch. But his words softened again as he shook off Robbie’s hand and grabbed his forearm lightly. “Why don’t you go back to bed for now, ok?” Robbie giggled as Anti spun him around and shoved him towards the stairs. “I need to whip some assholes into shape before your party.” Anti was gone the next second, and static could be heard over the intercom before his voice rang clear. “HEY FUCKERS. GET DOWN TO THE COMMONS AREA OR I PROMISE TO RUIN YOUR NIGHT PERSONALLY.” There was a slight pause, before Anti started up again, “AND DARK SO HELP ME IF YOU DON’T HELP OUT I WILL SAVE MY BEST KNIFE FOR THAT LAME-ASS SUIT THAT’S WRAPPED UP IN YOUR CLOSET.” Anti’s voice died out and Dark stood with a deep sigh that distorted his aura, before walking out of the room. 

Mark looked at Jack, sighing in relief. “That should help things. Let’s hope there’s no more surprises for tonight.” Egos started streaming in from all directions, laughing and horseplaying with each other. Marvin and Jackieboy Man greeted Jack with smiles and laughs. Google, who was fully fused again, entered with a radical-looking Bing trailing behind. He was conversing animatedly with KotS, who was finally down from the roof. Schneep soon emerged from the kitchen, comforting a very distraught Chase, who apologised profusely for not watching the cake. Silver Shepherd fell from the vents with a loud crash, but no one seemed to notice. Several other groups made their way to the couches, talking or fighting lightheartedly. Anti teleported into the room just as Dark, the Host, and Wilford walked in from a side door, completing the arrangement.

“Ok then,” Started Jack, “looks like we have everyone.” Jack was about to continue, but froze when the doorbell rang. He looked at Mark for help, but he had just finished counting heads. Everyone was present. The whispers throughout the room quieted when the the bell rang again. Anti giggled, his form glitching wildly for a few seconds. Jack pounced on him, “What did you do?! Who’d you invite?” 

Anti shook his head, smiling. “I didn’t think they’d take me up on it.” He tilted his head to the side, trying to stifle his grin. “Or, I should say, take you up on it.” 

Jack fought to control his anger as he walked over to the door, flinging it open on what he expected to be some demon entity or dark ego. He was pleasantly surprised if not slightly worried, however, when he found a very jumpy Thomas Sanders on the other side. Jack furrowed his brows together, almost unbelieving. He opened his mouth to say something, but for once in his life, was speechless. But unlike his mouth, his brain was running a mile a minute. 

“We haven't even met all of his egos, there's no telling what threat they could pose! Even the “least threatening” was able to restrain Anti with a snap of his fingers! In fact…” Jack eyed Anti as he sauntered up next to Thomas and put an arm around his shoulders before shoving him inside. “Why did Anti invite them in the first place?” All egos looked upon Thomas with interest as his eyes roamed the room. 

Finally, Thomas cleared his throat and held up a bag, “Uh…hi? I um… I brought a gift?” He glanced around the room again. “Which… which one of you is Robbie?” The egos looked between each other, then back at Thomas.

Bing adjusted his hair. “Do we, like, know you brah?” 

Bing's question-phrase?- went unanswered as Google interrupted. “That is Thomas Sanders. Creator and Influencer on YouTube. He has: Zero…. Collabs between the YouTubers: Markiplier. And. Jacksepticeye.” 

Mark decided to step in. “Thomas is a friend of ours. He… we thought it would be nice if we could uh… could get all of you acquainted with Thomas's egos.” At the mention of egos, the room went into uproar. Loud babbling and questions were shot from all sides. Several Egos jumped up from their seats to approach Thomas, others turned to their friends to gossip or wonder what these newcomers would be like. Thomas gulped slightly as several started walking towards him, asking where his egos were and if they could meet them.

Jack stepped between them all, finally finding his voice once again, “All of you!! Shut up!” When silence was achieved, he continued. “It's Thomas's choice if his Egos want to come out. Stop hounding him, for fuck's sake!” Jack faced Thomas with what he hoped was a comforting smile. “Well? What do want?” 

Thomas began to nod, then violently started shaking his head. “Yes- I mean- No!” He took a shuddering breath. “They… I don't think we should come out.” Jack and Mark both raised and eyebrow at 'we,’ as did several Egos in the room. Anti didn't seem to like that answer. His knife appeared with a quiet metallic sound, but it drew everyone's eyes all the same. A couple egos drew breath, looking at each other with wide eyes.

Anti took a step forward, shaking his head. “It's rude, don’t ya think?” Another knife appeared in his other hand, and he pointed them both at Thomas. “When guests don't show up to a party they were invited to?” 

Jack put his hand out, steadying Anti. “Stop it. Now.” The glitch glared at Jack threateningly. 

He changed the grip on one of his knives, holding it point-first. “Have it your way, then!” Anti glitched just out of Jack's reach, throwing the knife with a wide grin. It soared through the air, catching the light as it spun. But before it could hit Thomas, someone appeared out of thin air and caught the knife with a shaking hand. The other two creators looked on with open mouths as an ego with dark eyes snatched the knife out of its path. He glanced down at the weapon in surprise, then up to the ego who threw it. 

Anti giggled. “Haven't met you before! Now let's get the others out, shall we?” Anti made to leap at Thomas again, but several egos tackled him and kicked the knife away. 

Of these, Schneeple yelled the loudest as he swatted at Anti with the wide sleeves of his lab coat. “Vy'd you do zat?! Idiot! No cake for you tonight, fucker!” Anti hissed and cursed at them as he struggled. Several of Mark's egos laughed from their places on the couch, and Chase began to sob again at the mention of cake. When the two YouTubers finally breathed again, they looked back to the place the purple-clad ego had stood. To their surprise, he was gone, the knife Anti had thrown stuck in the floorboards.


	3. Fireside Chats

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You can't blame Dark for being curious, can you? I mean, Roman is very strange.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you are enjoying it! Any tips? Tricks? Tell me if you like it!

After Anti had been sufficiently restrained and he had promised to not attempt murder for the rest of the night, Thomas became the main focus again. Despite the objections from Mark and Jack, the other egos ushered him to the couch and practically begged to meet more of his sides. It was rare to see creators with fully sentient, fully autonomous egos nowadays. Especially with Mark and Jack cracking down on YouTubers, teaching them to exert control early so they didn't end up in the same dangerous boat. So, the egos expressed a lot of excitement.

The crowding came with too much pressure, causing Thomas to finally let up. Roman sprang into the open, bowing dramatically at the crowd and shouting his name with a flourish of his hands. Despite his friendly exterior, some of the egos couldn't get past the sword so obviously out in the open… for many reasons. Egos who flaunted weapons with no remorse or misgivings usually knew how to use them.

Dark's eyes looked over the newcomer quickly. He was still miffed about not being able to get a good look at the first of Thomas Sanders’ egos, and decided he wouldn't waste precious seconds ever again. He too looked at the glittering blade, then over to his creator. He and Jack were eyeing the ego with distrust. From what Anti had told him, they had a right to be suspicious. Their meeting did not go well with Thomas. They did not get the information they wanted. 

Dark curled his lips upward. He was glad that he had tipped the scales in his favor this time. This way they couldn't formulate a meeting between all of them. They couldn't influence anything or warn Thomas Sanders about what their egos could do. It was a natural environment, for once. Dark clicked his tongue. He owed Anti another favor. A burst of light came from in front of Dark, and he turned to see Sanders’ ego now in different clothing. His hair color had changed too, he realized. Hmm. Shapeshifting. Dark turned to the Host, who muttered quiet fortunes and terrible outcomes under his breath.

“Host.” Dark didn't flinch when the blinded ego turned to him, as many would. “What powers does he possess?” The Host didn't turn to look, instead holding Dark's stare. 

“The Host tells Darkiplier that the Side named Roman shares abilities with the rest of his counterparts, including shapeshifting, summoning, teleporting, influencing reality, influencing emotions pertaining to his core values, and influencing the actions of his host, Thomas Sanders. The Host's bandages began to get darker as he speaks, finally soaking them red after finishing his sentence.”

But Dark paid no mind to the consequences of the Host's sight, pushing further with mounting excitement, “He can influence his Creator's actions? How? Egos are not connected to their creators in that way.” 

“The Host speaks slowly, wiping away the excess blood that drips down his face. The Host corrects Darkiplier in saying that Roman Sanders is not an ego, but a Side. He keeps explaining, telling Darkiplier that he is an integral part of Thomas Sanders, who cannot live without him. The Host mentions that this applies to the rest of his sides as well, and that since they are pieces of Thomas Sanders’ being, they are what drives his actions and thoughts... The Host now must remind Darkiplier that he will get lightheaded if he does not get his bandages replaced soon, and that Darkiplier would not like it if his primary source of information were to pass out.” 

Dark sighed and nodded, resigning himself. “Wilford.” The mustached ego looked up from his animated conversation with Jameson Jackson. Dark jerked his head towards the Host, who was back to his prophetic muttering. “Go clean him up.” Wilford looked like he was going to object, before Dark's form shifted in front of him. Wilford rolled his eyes, signing a goodbye to Jameson with an exaggerated wink. The mute ego giggled silently, waving as Wilford moved up the stairs with the Host in tow. 

Dark focused his attention back on the ego-no, Side. The energy had died down a bit. There were less egos crowding around the newcomer and more nuanced conversations held around t he room. To his surprise, Jack, Mark, and Thomas were nowhere to be seen. Probably discussing how to proceed with the rest of his Sides meeting everyone. Oh well. It was better this way. With a slight adjustment to his suit, Dark approached the Side, who was sitting in between Chase Brody and the Jim Twins. At the sight of Dark, the egos shifted uncomfortably in their seats. Chase interrupted Roman, telling him that he was gonna try to scrounge some sort of cake together before shuffling away, avoiding Dark’s eyes. The Jim Twins refrained from even coming up with an excuse, just standing up and sprinting out of the room unceremoniously. 

Roman blinked in surprise, looking around at the now empty space that had just been filled seconds before. He looked up at Dark who was now standing in front of him. “Why hello! It is glorious to meet you!” He stood up to shake Dark’s hand, resting his other hand on the hilt of his sword. 

Dark narrowed his eyes slightly at the gesture, but shook the Side’s hand all the same. “I am Dark. And you are Roman, correct?” The side didn’t confirm Dark’s statement. Instead, Roman stared at Dark’s grey hand, outlined in red and blue. 

He examined Dark’s aura for another moment, then met his eyes again. “Yes! That is me, the embodiment of Thomas’s dreams and aspirations!” Roman put a hand to his chest. “His creativity and talent, if you will.” Dark held back a sneer. He was quite vain, wasn’t he? Dark cracked his neck quickly, sitting down on the couch and motioning for Roman to join him. Roman complied, crossing his legs daintily. “So you all are separate from each other, rather than parts of a personality?” Roman ran a hand through his hair when Dark nodded. “It’s all quite confusing, isn’t it?” 

Dark agreed quickly, “Yes. I was wondering about that myself.” Dark reached out with his aura a bit, testing if the Side could sense it. “Could you explain what you do?” Surprisingly, Roman didn’t seem to notice the often suffocating effect of Dark’s power. He spoke fluently and without halt, as if nothing were different. 

“Oh, of course! I am the source of all of Thomas’ dreams! It is because of me that he can sing and dance and act!” Roman grinned, examining his nails for a moment. “I keep him on track, you know? I give him the ideas for videos and games and plotlines and all the flashy, important parts of being a youtuber!” He spoke behind his hand, however his volume did not diminish, “I supply all the best things, if you ask me.” 

Dark nodded as he tried to push a little more. “Does Thomas...listen to you?” He tried to infiltrate the Side’s mind, but found nothing. Was there a barrier? Dark couldn’t suggest anything or manipulate his actions. His shell flickered in anger. There was no way this side held more power than him.

Roman huffed and rolled his eyes, not noticing the growing aura that was creeping over the cushions. “Not as much as I would like. The others always shoot down my wonderful ideas, calling them too fantastic to be achievable!” Roman crossed his arms. “I mean, my ideas? Fantastic? That is practically a compliment and those clods are just jealous about this bod!” 

Dark looked up sharply. “What do you mean?”

Roman looked at him. “Me and my ideas are too fabulous for them, that’s all.”

Dark’s voice lowered, and his entire shell flickered sharply. “NO!” He breathed in slowly, forcing himself to take control. “Why don’t your ideas always get heard? Are you not the one in control?”

Roman leaned forward a little, uncrossing his legs. “Control? I’m afraid I don’t follow.” Dark studied the side once more. No. This isn’t the leader he was looking for. This one was either a pawn or just incredibly stupid. Dark thought back to his power, and how it had no effect. Despite Roman’s lack of control, he was still formidable and very very powerful. Dark gave a slight nod to himself, sticking to his decision. This side might not be pulling the strings, but was a warrior all the same. He needed to take a more wary approach, considering the fact that his manipulation didn’t seem to work on Roman.

Dark mended his statement, pulling away from the side, “Who decides what Thomas does, what he feels?” 

Roman seemed to have a moment of clarity. “AHA! You mean like choosing what is right and wrong?” Dark pondered this for a moment, before nodding. “That would be Patton! He’s the authority on Thomas’ feelings and all that.” Dark contemplated this, nodding slightly. Then he would see this other side, Patton. Soon.


	4. Meeting Logan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mark and Jack take Thomas into another room to talk. Someone else decides to break up their little meeting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you're enjoying my first ever fic on here! Tell me if you like it in the comments!

Jack, Thomas, and Mark sat facing each other in the quiet room. “So…” Thomas rung his hands. “It was actually Anti who invited me?” 

Jack rubbed his face, sighing heavily. “Yes. But I’m willing to bet that it was Dark’s idea over anything.” They looked at Mark, who nodded in agreement. 

Thomas rested his head on his chin. “Why would he do that, though? I haven’t even met him!” 

Mark scratched at his beard, then crossed his arms. “Yeah, but Anti definitely did. He probably told Dark the first chance he got, after that giant dog disappeared.” 

Thomas still looked thoughtful. “But why would they want me to come? I still don’t understand.” 

Jack looked at Mark, and Mark answered Thomas’ question. “Dark… he’s one of my dark egos. I assume you have someone who fits that role in your sides?” When Thomas nodded, Mark sighed. “That’s what I was afraid of. See, Dark isn’t very fond of me. He represents everything I’m not and he hates me for that.” Mark gestured to the door that led to the living room. “At events like these… we a have a bit of an unspoken agreement. But at any other time, he’s likely planning how to kill me or take over my channel. He also hates any other creator that has egos.” Mark waved a hand, “Or Sides I guess, in your case.” Mark leaned back in his seat. “He thinks that every ego has been unfairly enslaved by their creator. He tries to get egos on his side, and often succeeds in convincing them.” Mark paused, and shared a glance with Jack. “He’s very good at what he does.” 

A silence fell over the room, before Jack looked up at Thomas questioningly. “Are your… sides listening right now?”

Thomas shifted in his seat. “Of course. They always are! I can’t really help that...” Thomas didn’t catch the second meeting of eyes between the two men, instead looking at his fingers. “Do we need to involve them?” He shifted again, this time sitting straighter. “Do you need them to be here?” 

Jack nodded. “Before we do anything, I would like to meet them all, please.” And then in the blink of an eye, two other people were sitting on either side of Thomas. 

Patton they both recognized instantly, and he greeted them with a wave and a little, “Hello again!” He clasped his hands together in front of him, grinning widely. But Mark and Jack were looking at the Side they had never seen before. His back was straight, and like Patton, he bore glasses. He was wearing a black polo shirt and muted blue jeans, complete with a dark, striped, blue tie. His face was set in a thin line, and his eyes seemed cold, staring at them unemotionally.

His voice was linear and robotic, greeting them succinctly. “Salutations. My name is Logan. I represent Thomas’ logical thought and all of the knowledge he possesses.” He bowed his head a fraction, before it snapped back into position. 

Mark barely had time to look over him before Jack spoke loudly, “I thought you had more than that?” 

Patton turned to Thomas, resting his hand on his shoulder comfortingly, “Oh, sorry Thomas. Virgil doesn’t wanna come out right now. The kiddo said that he’s too wound up at the moment but if you really need him, he’ll know.” 

Thomas’ eyes softened, then shrugged when he turned back to Mark and Jack. “He’ll come when he’s ready. And as for the last of my sides… well, we can’t really control him all that well. He might show up, who knows.” 

Mark breathed in, shaking his head. “Well, I hope both of them are listening because this is important.” He met the eyes of Logan, holding back a shiver at his uncanny gaze. “If Dark engages with any of you, and you feel some kind of… of….” Mark debated his wording for a moment, before continuing, “-weird fog, or a tingly sensation come over you, then he’s trying to get into your head. That is his strongest ability, manipulating. He’s gonna ask you a lot of questions, trying to find out how you work. Answer him honestly, but keep your wits about you and if for even a moment you feel like… like everything Thomas has ever told you is wrong, then get away.” 

Logan put his hand to his chin, his voice carrying over the room, “This brand of manipulation will most likely have no control over us.” He let his hand drift, gesturing with precise movements, “If his power is anything like mind control, then it certainly won’t.” Jack, Thomas, and Mark looked at each other.

Finally, Patton questioned, “What do ya mean, Logan?” He giggled. “Your Pop's a little confused here.” Before anyone could quell Patton’s apparent confusion or Logan could get a word out, the door to their previously quiet sitting room practically burst off of its hinges. When the culprit to the unabashed door hate stepped into the room, both Mark and Jack knew that they wouldn’t be able to talk for the rest of the night. 

Wilford sauntered into the room, slurring, “Why in heaven’s name are you all in here?! The party is only begi-” Wilford froze, and bent over to examine the two sides on the couch. “Well, well, well. I seem to be in some… sophisticated company.” His gun, which Thomas just realized he was holding, seemed to disappear into thin air when he reached out to shake Logan’s hand. “Who might you be?” 

Logan stood up, back straight as they shook hands. “My name is Logan. Now if you would please excuse us, we were about to discuss something impor-” 

Wilford cut Logan off by pulling the side into a hug, exclaiming, “Now is that any way to greet a new friend?” He held Logan tightly in the embrace, then released, practically shoving Logan back onto the couch in the process. Logan glared at him, glasses eskew. But Wilford didn’t catch his biting expression, having already moved on to Patton. He bowed, then shook Patton’s hand vigorously, also knocking his glasses sideways. 

But Patton recovered quicker, adjusting them and jumping to his feet excitedly. “My name’s Patton, but you can call be Pat, or Morality, whichever you prefer!” Patton paused. “What’s your name?” 

Wilford chuckled, a loud, buttery noise that was just a bit too cheery. “The name’s Wilford Warfstache.” He looked Patton up and down, then pointed to the door. “And Dark said he needed you, so, uh, get on out there!”

Mark spoke quickly, “Dark? What did he say? What did he tell you?” But Mark’s questions went unanswered as Logan stood up again.

“Excuse you, but we were having a conversation before you so rudely interrupted. Patton is going nowhere, as he is needed here, with us. Darkiplier can wait.” 

Wilford just huffed and scowled, brushing Logan off with a wave of his hand, “Oh pish posh. You’re no fun.” Wilford snapped his fingers, and both he and Patton were suddenly gone.

“-Patton!” The strangled cry came from Thomas’s own lips, though his voice seemed deeper and more gravelly. Thomas began to cough, and Logan rested a hand on his back. 

The Logical side addressed the other two youtubers. “Well this is quite irritating. One moment, if you please. I need to calm Virgil.” Logan disappeared, and Thomas’ cough died down. 

He looked up to Jack and Mark, and seeing their expressions, sighed. “Do I need to be worried about Patton?”

Jack shook his head. “As far as I know, he doesn’t hurt people unless there’s a reason for it.” He scratched at his beard. “As strange as that reason may be.”

Thomas looked at Mark, who shrugged. “Dark probably sent Wilford in here to rile you up and get another one of your sides out. If Wilford came with a mission to get Patton out there, there was nothing we could've done about it.” 

Thomas sighed as Logan reappeared next to him. “Thomas. I am going to watch over Patton, and at Virgil's request he would like you to come, too.” 

Thomas nodded. “I hear him.” The pair of them stood up and Thomas took a deep breath, before addressing Mark and Jack. “You coming?” 

Mark shooed Thomas away. “I...I think me and Jack are gonna stay here for now. Be careful of Dark, alright?” Thomas and Logan nodded, then walked out of the room and shut the door behind them. Mark turned to Jack, shaking his head. “What do you think the situation is? Do we need to step in?”

Jack stood up and began to pace, putting his hands on his hips, “Patton's harmless, save for his fuckin reality bending or whatever he does.” Jack looked at the closed door. “He and that Roman fellow seem pretty air-headed. Neither are the type to resent Thomas, either.” Jack paused, shaking his head. “I'll tell ya, though. Logan was givin’ me the creeps. He reminded me too much of-”

“Dark. I know.” Mark put his head in his hands. “If Logan has control over all of Thomas's knowledge and logical thinking, then he could certainly do a number on his psyche.” Mark ran a hand through his hair. “He certainly seems like the controlling type. Didn't really show any emotion and was barely even fazed by Wilford.” 

Jack spoke loudly, as if the thought had just occurred to him. “And we still haven't met the last two yet! There's no telling what they can do!” 

Mark nodded, “Not to mention, Thomas said that there were other sides he wasn't even aware of. They could be puppeteering him without him even knowing.” 

Jack slumped into his chair with a huff. “This whole thing is just a big fucking mess, isn't it?” Mark opened his mouth to agree when they heard loud yelling come from the other side of the door, followed by a sharp cry and a bang. Jack met Mark's eyes. “That can't be good.”


	5. Anger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dark is quick to dismiss. Logan is not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My goodness! All these lovely comments are so nice! Thank you all so much. I hope you enjoy! <3

Patton appeared on a couch, with Wilford nowhere to be found. The emotional side looked around the room, and found that it was the living room that Thomas had walked into. His arrival had caused quite a stir, several egos whispering and sending glances his way. 

“Patton!!” Patton turned to see Roman on a couch on the other side of the fireplace, sitting next to one of Mark's egos. The Prince stood up from his seat and waltzed over to Patton. He turned to the growing crowd of egos and introduced Patton as people came to greet him. 

A nice-looking fellow with a black mustache accompanied by someone in a doctor's coat came first, both smiling widely. “Vy hello. I am Henrik Von Shneeplestein and this is Jameson. Forgive him, for he iz mute. But he can speak in ozher vayz.” 

A little square plaque appeared next to Jameson's face, saying, “You can call me Jamie!” Patton's eyes lit up as he lifted his hands and delved into a string of sign language. The mustached ego in front of him blushed with happiness, the speech card disappearing in a puff of smoke. His smile got even wider when Roman, previously on the sidelines, joined in on the conversation with vigor. As Roman entertained both Shneep and Jamie, another pair of egos approached Patton. They were practically identical, wearing the same outfits and all. 

“Hello, strange new Jim. I am Jim and this is my associate, Jim.” The two ego's nodded in affirmation. Yes. They were Jim. 

Patton grinned sheepishly. “Well It's nice to meet you, Jim, and uh, Jim.” 

The egos only shook their heads. “I told you once before, strange new Jim. I am Jim, this is Jim.” They left without another word, leaving a very confused Patton behind. Patton looked around the room once more, his eyes landing on a Mark ego in a suit. He locked eyes with Patton, and began to walk towards him. Patton smiled when the reached each other, waving a hello. 

“I'm Patton! What's your name?” 

The Mark ego grinned in response, lowering his head. “I am Dark.” Patton faltered, but only for a moment. 

He let his smile fill his face again, sitting down on the couch with a plop. “Well it's very nice to meet you, uh, Dark.” Luckily, it seemed like the ego hadn't caught Patton's moment of fear. The Side continued, trying to be as cheery as possible, “Did you need me for something?” 

Dark sat down on the arm of the couch. “As a matter of fact, yes. Your associate told me you deal with Thomas’s right and wrongs. Is that true?” 

Patton nodded. “Yep! I'm morality. The embodiment of all of Thomas's morals and emotions.” Dark raised an eyebrow, his body seemingly splitting then reforming in front of Patton's eyes. Patton shivered at the sight, and flinched when Dark's voice suddenly became more cold. 

“Emotions. You control his… emotions.” Dark frowned when Patton nodded, his brows knit.

“Yeah… I-” 

“I don't care about his emotions.” Dark's voice was suddenly surrounding Patton, making him flinch. Patton felt a heavy weight on his chest and a darkness surround him, before it was gone in the blink of an eye. Dark cracked his neck and straightened his suit, dull eyes glaring down at the frightened Side. “Who is responsible for what Thomas thinks? His view of the world?” Despite the lower volume, Patton found himself flinching at every syllable. 

He shook with fear, finding his eyes wet as he tried to speak.”U-um… I don't-”

“That would be me.” Dark jerked his head in the direction of the new voice, finding himself looking at another of Thomas's sides. This one definitely had an air of authority, with his piercing eyes and knowledgeable stance. The third side strode across the room, grabbed Patton by his hand, and pulled him out of Dark's reach. Patton began to cry as Roman took him and hugged him tightly, whispering something to him. Logan turned to face who he assumed was Darkiplier, cutting him off before he could speak. “I do not wish to speak with you or answer any of your questions. You have frightened Patton and therefore do not have my respect nor deference. I believe we are done here. Thomas!” Thomas walked over to the three sides, giving Logan a questioning look. Logan gave one last glare at Dark before speaking again. “I don't think we are welcomed guests here anymore. Let's leave.” 

Thomas nodded. “That's fair, Logan. But I think I better tell Mark or Jack that we-”

“No.” Logan interrupted Thomas. “There are people here who wish to do you harm. This is not an acceptable environment. We are leaving immediately.” The four of them began to walk towards the door with Logan in the lead when Wilford appeared in front of them in a puff of pink smoke. 

“Leaving so soon?” Wilford waved his revolver around. “The fun's barely begun!” 

Logan huffed in annoyance. “As far as I am concerned, this has not been 'fun.’ Thomas's life has been threatened and Patton has been emotionally harmed. I would hardly consider any of that ‘fun.’” Logan stepped forward and clenched his fists, locking eyes with the mustached ego. “Now, and I am asking this kindly, please move out of our way.” 

The whole room went silent. Every ego's heart sank as they saw the shift of expression on Wilford's face. Dark's eyes widened and his form flickered in interest. This Side had to be the one who was in control, right? The deafening silence was broken by the click of Wilford's gun. 

“Try saying that again, glasses face!” Wilford raised his gun with a bark of a laugh and--...froze.

The Side in purple was back, one hand on Wilford's wrist and the other pressed against his chest. A dark purple energy seemed to drip off of the Side's form, pooling at his hands and spilling into Wilford. Wilford tried to break away, but the side tightened his grip on Wilford's wrist. Wilford moved raised his arm to punch the side but he grabbed that wrist as the purple light brightened. Wilford grunted in pain, desperately trying to break away from the sides grasp. Wilford’s struggling seemed to get weaker and weaker, before his eyes went rolled down and his head lolled to the side. He dropped the gun, which discharged upon hitting the ground. The Side released his wrists and Wilford fell to the floor like a ragdoll, pressing his back up against the door. Wilford’s head swayed as he tried to orient himself. He sloppily brought one of his arms around for support as he tried to stand, and he used his other arm to reach for his gun. The side growled in anger and grabbed Wilford's head as the light redoubled, causing Wilford to cry out in what sounded like fear. 

Roman stepped forward and grabbed the side’s arm. “Hey- hey Twenty One Eyeshadow Palettes. I think that’s-“ The side shoved Roman away, and in the same motion put another hand up to Wilford's head. Wilford screamed this time, struggling weakly for a moment before his body went limp. The side’s breath now came heavy and ragged as he let go, his gasping the only sound in the room. For a moment, Wilford just lay there. Then, he slowly raised his eyes to meet that of the side’s. The reaction was explosive. He sucked in a huge breath as he pushed himself backwards, hitting his skull on the door with a loud crack.

“P-please don’t...” He crumpled in on himself, shaking. “I won’t-I promise I’ll-“ The Side took a step forward and Wilford cut himself off, scrambling to get away. He clawed along the wall until he teleported again, leaving behind a cloud and an empty space. The quiet returned again, this time with a heaviness that was palatable. The side stood for a moment, staring at the place where Wilford had disappeared. 

Then, he started falling.


	6. The New Guy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dark wants to know more about the new guy, but his fellow sides bar the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my goodness, guys. There have been so many nice comments already. Thank you so much for reading!

Patton scrambled to catch his child. “Virgil!!” Patton put his hand to Virgil's forehead, sighing in relief. As the rest of the sides crowded around him, Mark and Jack burst into the room.

“What the hell happened?” Jack's voice seemed to startle everyone out of their stupor. A buzz of conversation started up again, many egos sprinting out of the room or up the stairs. Dark's exit was missed by nobody as he disappeared into the void. Jack approached Jackieboy Man. “What happened? We heard a gunshot.” 

Jackieboy eyed the new Side wearily. “Wilford was acting crazy, looked like he was gonna shoot that guy.” JBM pointed to Logan, then pointed to the new arrival, who was still passed out. “Then he showed up and did this weird fuckery with his hands. Wilford got super scared and booked it.” 

Jack raised an eyebrow as Mark butted in on the conversation, “Wilford ran away?” 

Jackie nodded. “Yeah. Looked pretty terrified. He straight up teleported out of there. Dropped his gun, too.” He shrugged. “That's the gunshot you heard.” Jackie turned around and began to speak with Silver Shepherd, saluting Jack as the masked Markiplier ego began leading him away. 

Mark looked at the new Side, then back to Jack. “No need to check up on Wilford. I know Dark's already on it. For now, let's see what we can learn about this guy. Because if he can make Wilford run away in fear…” Mark narrowed his eyes at the sides as they crowded around their own. “We might need to start worrying.”

 

 

Dark stepped into the Host's room, eyes narrowing when he saw Wilford sitting in the corner shaking like a leaf. He crouched down to Wilford’s level, and tried to take Wilford’s hands away. Wilford whimpered, shaking his head frantically. “H-he’s coming after me. I sh-shouldn’t have done that. I-I should’ve stayed away. Away. Far away. Far, far, far, fa-“

Dark slapped Wilford. He grabbed his hands and forced them away from his raw eyes. “What did he do? How do you feel?” He shook Wilford, then slapped him again. “Snap out of it, Wil.” Wilford took the abuse stoically, staring right through Dark. 

“I should never try anything like that again.” Wilford nodded slowly, his eyes going dull again. “I won’t. From now on I am going to stay far, far away from Thomas and Logan and Roman and-“ Dark growled in annoyance, releasing Wilford with a shove. He then addressed the Host, who had awoken from his slumber and had begun to mutter about his prophetic dreams. 

“Who is the side and what did he do to Wilford?” Dark sat on the Host's bed, and loosened his tie a smidge as the blind man spoke.

“The Host tells Darkiplier that Wilford has been given an involuntary and unavoidable fear. Virgil, the side who represents Thomas Sanders's Anxiety, forced it upon Wilford in self defense. The Host pauses and let's Darkiplier ask his question-”

“How did he do it?”

“-then the Host continues, reminding Darkiplier that the Sides of Thomas can influence people in whatever they represent. The Side Virgil represents Anxiety, and therefore can heighten or lessen that aspect. This is what happened to Wilford. The Side Virgil created an intense fear surrounding himself and the action of harming any of Virgil’s family members. To do this, The Side Virgil demonstrated his ability to the highest effect. The Host recollects that Wilford has shown a strong aversion to fear in the past, even going so far as to lack it. This is why the Side Virgil overdid himself. He heightened an emotion that Wilford has practically none of. The Host tells Darkiplier that he finds this feat extraordinary.”

Dark opened his mouth to speak again, but the Host interrupted him, speaking quickly, “The Host's bandages are getting soaked through again, and he is feeling lightheaded. He tells Darkiplier that reality and the future are getting darker again and that Darkiplier must ask whatever he wants to know quickly.”

Dark cursed under his breath, rubbing his temple. He looked back at the Host once more, sighing in resignation. “Go back to sleep. I will get Wilford to-” Dark stopped himself, glancing in Wilford's direction. “Host. Is Wilford going to make a prompt recovery?”

“The Host looks at Wilford, then back at Darkiplier. He informs Darkiplier that Wilford's fear is not his own. The Side Virgil must remove it, or else Wilford shall remain this way indefinitely. The Host-” Dark watched in vain as the Host's voice cut off suddenly, falling back onto his pillows and drenching them with blood in the process. Dark cursed again, standing straight and adjusting his sleeves. He stepped into the void again, and walked into the living room. He snatched Dr. Iplier by his lab coat, dragged him into the void, then threw him back into the Host's room. 

“Replace the Host's bandages. Check over Wilford, too.” Dark caught the glare that Dr. Iplier sent his way, but he was too preoccupied with the present situation to care. There was someone in Sanders's mind who could influence fear. Maybe Dark had finally found a breakthrough. This would be someone on his side. Or, at least, someone he could use. He appeared in the living room again. While some conversations stopped, the flutter of activity around the couch where the side lay effectively distracted many from his arrival. Dark glanced at Mark and Jack, who were discussing something with Thomas in the corner. They seemed distracted. Good. Dark sat down and observed the group of Sides as they bickered and argued with one another, seemingly at odds about what to do. 

“We can turn into Remy! Then- then Virgil may get shocked awake by the power of the fusion!!” The vain one, Roman, as Dark remembered it, tried to reach for Virgil's hand but the cold one slapped it away. Dark realized with a huff that he hadn't learned that one's name. No matter. He wasn't as interested in him. Virgil seemed to be the one who called the shots, judging by the way they were rushing to wake him. None of Mark's powerful egos had strong meaningful relationships with each other. Clearly the sides were doing this to serve their leader. His power must be what kept Thomas under their thumb. Fear was the most powerful motivator, after all. 

“No! That his completely nonsensical. Virgil must be fully awake and aware to fuse in the first place. You can't become Remy without both of your consent.” The side adjusted his glasses. “Besides, I doubt Remy would be much help. How would he be able to impact Virgil's condition?! He is a completely separate entity from the both of you!” The side, who had been pressing closer into Roman, was pulled back by Patton as he defused the argument.

“Stop it! Virgil won't get better if you two keep yelling like this!” Patton stepped in between the two sides, and began to card through Virgil's purple hair with his fingers. “We need to stick together in this, ok?” Dark cocked his head to the side, watching the interaction with interest. If Patton controlled emotions, he could certainly use his abilities to change their attitudes. Why didn't he sap away their anger and replace it with something more agreeable? 

Dark tapped on the armchair thoughtfully. If their relationship with each other was real it would explain why he wouldn't use his powers without their knowing. It would also explain why they cared so much about Virgil. But, Dark thought, despite their apparent care for each other it didn't change the fact that they could directly influence their host at any time they pleased. And that is what Dark was interested in. Surely one of them wanted to be in control. That was what egos wanted most, after all. Sides couldn't be much different. He came to a decision. Virgil was his best bet. And they needed to be alone. Dark cracked his neck and stood from his chair, walking towards the four sides. The movement caught the attention of Patton, who locked eyes with Dark. He frowned, whispering something to his fellow sides. The one in the polo shirt whispered something back, gesturing down to Virgil. When Dark had almost reached them, Roman turned around and barred his way.

“You shall go no further! You made our beloved Patton cry! Not to mention, you've been acting all terrible and backhanded towards us, with your attempts at undermining our relationship with Thomas!” Dark glared at Mark and Jack from across the room, who luckily hadn't noticed the conversation.

Dark shook his head, placing a light smile on his face. “I'm afraid I don't know what you’re talking about?” Dark side-stepped in an attempt to get past Roman, but was blocked again by the third side, who shook his head. He held Dark’s gaze with steely eyes, a ghost of a smile at his lips as he spoke.

“We were warned about your tactics as well as your personality, so there is no use trying to pretend otherwise, Darkiplier.” The side adjusted his glasses as he rolled his eyes. “Besides, it wouldn’t have mattered if we had been given a ‘heads up,’ as your powers do not have any affect on us. You may be threatening, but there is nothing you can do in this environment to cause us harm.” He let a full smile come to his face, bringing his arms up to his chest and leaning forward into Dark’s aura. “I also already harbor a hatred for you because of your treatment of Patton, so there was going to be no cordial interaction between us in the first place. With that out of the way, I would ask you to. Step. Back. Before Roman here forces you to do so.” 

Dark clenched his fists as he felt his anger rising. His eyes flicked about the room, and he found that everyone had seen the interaction due to the side raising his voice. Mark’s gaze was the most incriminating, and his stance indicated that he was a hair away from stepping in. Dark released his hands to move them up to his suit, straightening his tie as his aura calmed down from its wild flashing and glitching. However, he didn’t step back. Instead, when he finally met the Side’s eyes again, he smiled. Dark snapped his fingers, then was swallowed up by the void.

Logan was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when Patton yelped from behind him. Logan spun on his heel, and was met by the sight of the empty couch. Virgil was gone.


	7. Dark and Virgil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dark sizes Virgil up. I wonder if he likes what he sees?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've seen a bunch of comments asking where Deceit is gonna appear and all I can say is soon! Maybe in chapter 8/9. I have great ideas for how he's gonna turn out, so buckle up!
> 
> As always, thank you for reading! Remeber to drink water or take your meds if you've forgotten, ok? Have a lovely day! <3

Virgil felt himself waking up. He opened his eyes, then screwed them shut again. His instincts were telling him that something was wrong. He ignored the frantic beating of his heart and instead focused on where he was and what he had been doing before he… fell asleep? Virgil didn’t think that sounded like himself at all. Especially when he was in a-… new place. The memory of being tricked into coming to a party for a person they didn’t even know resurfaced. He recounted all the events he could remember. Thomas almost getting impaled by a knife, the talk with Thomas’ fellow creators about the manipulative ego name Dark, and finally Logan deciding that they should leave- Virgil sat up with a start. Of course. He didn’t want to fall asleep, he just used too much energy getting that ego to leave them alone! Virgil sighed, shaking his head to clear it. That poor guy probably needed some help right about now. Virgil glanced around the room. It was pretty decent, albeit small, with a dimly lit window to his left and several pieces of furniture. He turned up the covers. The others had probably put him in here to rest. As Virgil’s feet hit the floor, a Markiplier ego burst through the door, freezing upon seeing him.

His skin was grey and his body seemed to crackle with a blue and red light. It was probably Virgil’s imagination, but the side thought he could hear a high-pitched whine as the ego approached him. He spoke with a light and airy voice, reminding Virgil of Patton. “Oh gosh I’m glad you’re awake! Everyone was so worried about you!” Virgil raised an eyebrow at the tray in the ego’s hands. 

“What’s that for?” 

The ego shrugged his shoulders, as if to loosen his joints. “It’s for you, of course!” He lowered the tray to the bed, pointing to a bowl of soup. “That soup should wake you right up! I put some painkillers there, too, next to that glass of water.” Virgil rubbed his temple, only now realising he had a headache. He winced as the whine turned into a quiet ring in his ears. The room started to creak and sway, and Virgil sat on the bed to diminish the dizziness he was feeling. 

“Uh, sorry dude but-“

“It’s Damien.”

Virgil sighed, “Sorry Damien, but those painkillers are gonna be useless.Thanks anyway.” 

Damien’s eyes moved to the painkillers, then back up to Virgil’s face. “What do you mean?” Damien’s voice had gotten heavier, but Virgil assumed it was his headache.

“Food that doesn’t come from the mindscape doesn’t work. I won’t get any energy from it. And uh, those pills won’t help me either.” Virgil sneaked a glance at Damien from behind his hands. The ego just stared at Virgil blankly for a moment as if he were thinking. Then he spoke in a slightly less peppy tone,

“What’s the mindscape?” The ego snapped his fingers and the tray disappeared. He situated himself on the bed more, with his legs hanging off of it lazily. Virgil shrugged, leaning back on his hands and crossing one leg on top of his knee. 

“It’s where I live I guess. It’s kinda like a... you know, like an… an alternate plane of reality that exists inside of Thomas.” Virgil shrugged again, moving his bangs out of his eyes with a movement of his head. “What you see in front of you is kinda like a projection. My real body is back in the mindscape.” 

“Is that where you control Thomas?” Damien had a light smile on his face, but despite his welcoming manner and innocent tone Virgil found himself shivering. He shook his head slowly.

“Um… yeah. Yeah, I guess so.” Virgil sat up from his previously relaxed stance, shifting uncomfortably. For the first time something felt off. But he couldn’t place what. “But usually we-“

“Isn’t that how it works? You are what makes up his thinking and his personality, right?” Damien’s sudden rude demeanor didn’t sit well with Virgil. He didn’t try to hide his suspicion, sensing someone who was putting up an act.

“Yeah. But Thomas is his own person on his own-“

Damien interrupted impatiently, “Yes yes I understand that. But you are anxiety. You make him feel fear.” 

Virgil nodded, crossing his arms over his chest as he matched Damien’s anger. “Yeah. So what?” Virgil’s thoughts went to his fellow sides. Why was he alone with this guy? Why hadn’t they come to check on him? Why did Damien bring him food and not Patton or Logan?

“So you can make him feel it at any time? You can force him to feel that way, even if he doesn’t want to?” Damien’s questions were getting even more outrageous. His pitching body pulsed with red and blue as he spoke. His voice echoed in Virgil’s head, and his expression was just barely holding onto the smiling character that had been there only seconds before. It seemed he had decided to drop his act.

Virgil held the ego’s gaze as if to say, I’ve seen through you, I know your game. “Yes. I can.” Virgil stood up before Damien could interrupt him. “If I wanted to I could make Thomas’s life hell. I could push everyone else away and warp all of Patton’s emotions so that the only thing Thomas could feel was terror.” Virgil walked towards Damien, watching as the Ego sat up straighter as he spoke. “I could twist every experience before it happens, making Thomas freeze up on stage, chicken out of everything, and disregard all of Roman’s dreams.” Virgil walked past the Ego and around the bed, holding his gaze the entire time. “I could make Thomas stomp Logan down until there was no Logical thinking anymore. Not much would be left. Only fear and anxiety and apprehension and timid resignation to whatever I say.” Virgil backed away, taking steps inch by inch. He didn’t dare look in the direction he was going, for fear that Damien- no. For fear that Darkiplier would catch on.

“But.” Virgil saw Dark’s shift in expression as the side said the word. Virgil continued, “I would never do any of that. You know why?” Virgil didn’t wait for an answer. “Because I exist to make sure that Thomas is vigilant and lives to become better. And I can’t fulfill my destiny with the rest of my family, the people who shape Thomas and give him inspiration and love and goals, if I am too overbearing to let him do anything. That is not my job. My job is to keep Thomas safe and happy, and doing any of those horrible, terrible things would be the opposite of that.” Virgil glared at Dark from behind a pitch-black pool of eyeshadow. “Whatever you thought I was going to do for you, my answer is no.” Virgil turned quickly, grabbing the door handle and throwing the door open. He moved to sprint out the door but yelped in surprise when he was met with the empty expanse of space. He almost fell into the abyss, but caught himself on the door handle as he wobbled forward. He got his footing and stood up straight, panting as he gained his mental function back.

“The doors around here can be a bit finicky, Anxiety. Care to try again?” This time as Dark spoke, Virgil felt a chill come up his spine. His voice had gotten low and dangerous, and now Virgil truly saw the curtain fall. He spun around to see Darkiplier standing up, hands clasped behind his back. The grayness on his skin began to seep into the rest of his surroundings, stretching out then coming back in as if it were breathing. His back was completely straight and still, contrasting his blue and red doubles which flickered around the room. The ringing Virgil had noticed was now a screaming in his ears. The room pitched and creaked before his eyes, but Virgil, despite his fear, stood up straighter. Dark chuckled. “And I thought you could be stronger than your other sides. It appears I was wrong.” Dark took a single step, and the gray shadows at his feet burst forward, snaking across the floor and scurrying across the walls until the entire room was grey. Ironically, Virgil was the only spot of color in the dull prison he was stuck in. 

Before his eyes, the room’s walls began to crumble. Cracks appeared in the ceiling as it chipped away, revealing that there was no longer a universe, only darkness. The window splintered into a million little pieces and Virgil gasped, putting up a purple shield that blocked the incoming glass. Dark hummed in interest. “I wonder what else you can do? Care to show me?” 

Virgil almost laughed. “Fat chance, loser.” Virgil’s eyes widened when Dark disappeared. The Side spun slowly around in a circle, keeping the shield trained in front of him. Virgil heard Dark’s chilling chuckle, then his voice as it echoed around the splitting room.

“I don’t give people choices.” Suddenly, Dark appeared behind Virgil, his hands covered in shadow. He swung at Virgil’s back but the side leapt out of the way, rolling then teleporting to the bed. Virgil stayed in an agile crouch, bouncing slightly. Dark let the shadows fester on one of his hands, cracking his neck. “You’re quite fast. Is that an ability of yours?” Virgil huffed, blowing purple locks away from his eyes. 

“Nah. You’re just slow.” Virgil smirked as Dark flickered in anger. His eyelids lowered, throwing the ball of shadows at Virgil. Despite his nonchalant manner, the ball flew deceptively fast. Virgil put up his shield, but the force of the blast knocked him backwards, spinning him into the wall. Virgil hit it with a crack and splintered the already weakened wall. Several pieces broke off behind him, falling into the nothingness below. Virgil teleported to the other side of the room to avoid another ball of darkness. It crashed into Virgil’s previous spot, blasting the entire wall away. The darkness split into many smaller balls and began to chase Virgil around as he teleported. Dark threw another blast at him and Virgil’s breath hitched. He lowered his shield and darted to the side, his movements turning into a blurred line. 

Dark moved the black ball of darkness with an index finger, getting progressively frustrated as Virgil seemed to morph into a barely visible streak. Virgil huffed and puffed heavily, yelping in surprise when a wall of solid darkness enveloped him. He started falling faster and faster with nothing to support him until he felt himself slam into the floor. He tried to get up but another pool of black appeared under him, making him start falling again. This time, he felt like the world was spinning around him as he tumbled downward in empty space. Suddenly, Virgil slammed into the ceiling, head spinning from vertigo. He tried to hold onto something but he was already in the process of being flung in another direction, this time one of the crumbling walls. The impact caused the entire wall to give way, with Virgil going with it. 

Virgil finally could get his bearings as he began to be sucked out into space. But it was too little too late as Virgil heard Dark's voice in his head. “Ah ah ah. I can't have you escaping me that easily.” A tendril of darkness whipped out from the hole in the wall and grabbed Virgil's ankle, yanking him back into Dark's grasp. He caught Virgil by his throat, holding him in the air as Virgil tried to blink the dizziness away. Dark leaned in close to Virgil, grinning, “From what you told me, it seems I can't actually kill you. This is just a meaningless extension of your true self, isn't it?” Dark chuckled when Virgil teleported out of his grasp, clutching his neck and breathing heavily. “Let's see how far we can push you.”


	8. The Search

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone splits up in search of Thomas's missing side. But Dark has put a roadblock in their way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've got it all planned out, and I'm writing the rest of the book as you read this! I can't wait to actually finish a fic for once lol.
> 
> Thanks again for commenting, and have a lovely day, everyone! <3

“I want Jackieboy, Marvin, Jims, and King on floor one! Dr. Schneeplestein, JJ, Bim, Ed, check the basement! Chase and Bing! Take the Sides up to the third floor to check there! Mark and I will be…” Patton, Logan, and Roman couldn't hear the rest of Jack's orders as they piled up the steps. Chase called over his shoulder to them as he led the way,

“You guys don’t need to worry much. Dark won’t hurt him as long as he tells him what he wants to hear. If your guy is smart, Dark might lose interest.” The sides shared looks as Bing chimed in from behind them,

“It’s definitely not a surprise that he took your brah, though. Haha, that dude completely wasted Wilford! His power level has gotta be off the chain!” Somehow, a wicked guitar solo played in their ears as Bing finished his sentence. But the sides were too preoccupied with looking for their missing counterpart to comment. 

Chase scolded, “Shut up, Bing. You’re only gonna make them feel worse.” Chase fell back a bit, and began to talk with Logan as the group split up and went down different hallways. “So what’s with him? Why’d he pass out?” 

Logan sighed. “Virgil has been high-strung this entire evening. It’ll be a wonder if he can even take that much anxiety back.” Logan glanced in a room, then walked over to the closet in the corner and opened it, scanning the inside. “The combination of the many stressful events and using too much power caused him to pass out.” Logan clicked his tongue, shaking his head. “Any more and his physical form would have evaporated and he would have reverted back to Thomas’ mind.” 

Chase scratched the back of his neck as they left the room and continued to walk down the hall. “I don’t really understand how you guys work but from the looks of things Dark probably thinks-” Chase stopped in his tracks, his eyes glued on something at the end of the hall. Logan followed his gaze to see the hallway practically broken off at the end, with all the color sapped out of it. The walls creaked as if they were swaying or straining to keep the ceiling up. Most of the lights were completely shattered but some were flickering, illuminating the sleeping form of Virgil slumped up against the wall. Logan took a step forward, but Chase caught his arm. “Don’t go over there.”

Logan practically scoffed. “What? Virgil is clearly in a state of alarm. Why would you-”

“Don’t go.” Chase interrupted Logan, staring ahead at the blackness. Logan grunted in pain as Chase tightened his hold on Logan’s arm. “We can’t go.” Logan looked at the monochrome walls, then back to Chase.

“Is there something-”

“Someone will get hurt.” Chase finally tore away from the blackness, meeting Logan’s furrowed gaze. Logan stared at the Ego’s eyes, watching as shadows seemed to choke out the blue. “We will get hurt, Stacy will get hurt.” 

“Who is-”

“We should go.” Chase started back the way they came, dragging Logan behind him. 

“Chase.” Logan stood firm, watching as Chase tugged on Logan in vain. “Are you unwell? You aren’t making any sense. We were looking for Virgil and now we’ve found him. We have accomplished our goal and it would be illogical to leave now.” Logan paused, then grabbed Chase’s face to examine his eyes again. He nodded curtly, deciding that he had indeed seen something off. “This was something that Darkiplier did, is it not?”

“Darkiplier isn’t here.” Chase began to start walking again, this time more furtively. Logan huffed in annoyance. 

“Chase, I am very sorry but your decisions are being clouded by something you cannot control. This might be a jolt for you but I shall apologize a second time if it makes you feel better.” Logan yanked Chase around to face him, then stuck his pointer finger in the middle of Chase’s forehead. The tip of his finger flashed a deep blue, and it spread out like electricity across Chase’s forehead before dissipating into his skin. Chase yelped in pain as he flinched backwards, letting go of Logan. The Ego rubbed his head as he squinted at Logan with his bright blue eyes. He barely had time to process anything before Logan nodded and walked back down the hall. He scooped up Virgil from the darkness and it evaporated in the blink of an eye. 

Chase blinked a couple times, following Logan as he carried Virgil back down the hallway. “Uh. What happened just now?” 

Logan brushed the hair out of Virgil’s eyes, answering absentmindedly, “You were under the assumption that we needed to leave, most likely caused by the aura that was surrounding the hallway. But not anymore.”

“Um...how did you do that?” Chase took his hat off and began to wring it with his hands. Logan looked at the ego out of the corner of his eye.

“Do what?”

“How did you break me out of Dark’s manipulation?” At Logan’s raised eyebrow, Chase hurried to correct himself. “I mean, I’m glad you did, but how did you? Dark’s like... the most powerful person ever. And his aura didn’t even touch you, man. That’s kinda weird.” Logan gestured to a door and Chase opened it for him, the side carrying Virgil in and laying him on a bed. 

Logan shook his head. “Your brain was clouded by an illogical fear. I simply opened your eyes to reason out the truth of the situation.” 

Chase placed his hat on his head. “Oh.” He paused, then seemed to remember something. “Wait, is that what your bro did to Wilford?” This time, Logan didn’t answer. He screwed his eyes shut tightly, squeezing Virgil’s hand as he did so. Chase jumped when Patton and Roman sprang up next to Logan.

“You called, teach?” Roman’s eyes landed on Virgil, sighing in relief. “Oh, finally. I don’t think Patton would’ve lasted another minute without his shadow child.” Patton lurched forward, taking up his kiddo in a desperate bear hug. 

He began to play with Virgil’s hair as he spoke. “Did you tell Thomas yet, Logan?” The logical side nodded, and turned towards the door as Mark, Jack, and Thomas burst into the room. 

Thomas walked over to the side of the bed. “Is Virgil ok?”

Logan sighed. “He is not harmed physically. However, I do not think he can wake up. I tried communicating with him but there seemed to be a block.” 

Thomas ran a hand through his hair anxiously. “What do we do?”

Logan crossed his arms over his chest, then adjusted his glasses. “It’s quite simple, Thomas. Summon him back to the mindscape and he will regain his energy again. If anything else is amiss, we can handle it from there.” With that, Logan sank out of the room, followed by Roman and Patton. Chase huffed, shaking his head as he clapped Jack on the shoulder.

“These guys seem crazy powerful, man. That Logan dude broke me out of Dark’s manipulation while trying to save him.” Chase pointed to Virgil, then straightened his cap. “I’ll go call off the search.” The ego left the room silently, closing the door on his way out. Jack glanced at the closed door, then at Thomas as he breathed in and out slowly. The viner closed his eyes, his arms going stiff at his sides. Virgil’s body disappeared, then flickered back into view. Jack and Mark watched as Virgil shook violently. Another flicker and Virgil was no longer in color. The lights in the room dimmed, then lit up again, bright and harsh. A strange wind seemed to pick up in the room, blowing Virgil’s hair away from his eyes, which were now black as coal. A chuckle escaped his mouth as his body finally sank out, only it wasn’t his voice.

It was Dark’s.


	9. Deceit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Deceit decides to reveal how he feels about all this. But who does he side with?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here by popular demand is the snakey side himself, Deceit! Hope he lives up to you guys' expectations. The next chapter will be out by the 26th, probably.
> 
> Have a lovely holiday and take care of yourselves! <3

Virgil watched as Dark stripped off his suit jacket, leaving him in a white collared shirt. The ego rolled up his sleeves, pressing harder down on Virgil’s chest with his foot. The side had been trying to sink out for a long time, with no results. Wherever he was, he couldn’t escape it. Dark snapped Virgil out of his thoughts by slapping him in the face.

“Listen to me when I’m talking to you!” Dark grabbed Virgil’s arm, and Virgil screamed in pain when Dark’s hand burned through the fabric and into his arm. “I’ve witnessed your speed. I’ve felt your strength. But it’s nothing I haven’t seen before.” He leaned in close to Virgil, pressing a dagger made of smoke up to the side’s neck. “I wonder what I’ll see if I break you. I wonder what you’ll do?” Dark grabbed a clump of Virgil’s hair and pulled him closer. “I wonder if you’ll let me in.”

Virgil felt himself spiralling as he stared into Dark’s eyes. He wished he could take a break. But he needed to do this. If Dark got past him, who knew what he would do to Thomas. He couldn’t let Dark in. He wouldn’t. Virgil’s ears rang and his vision clouded as he shook his head.

“No.”

Dark sneered, and raised his shadow-covered hand. “We’ll see.” Dark moved to strike, but the room seemed to heave to the left, throwing Dark off of Virgil. Virgil felt the strong sensation of Thomas pulling him to the mindscape, and smiled. He let himself get dragged to the doorway of the room, grateful to be pulled down, down, down. The door flung open and on the other side was what looked like the living room of the mindscape, only slightly off-kilter. The room pitched again and Virgil fell into the wall, grunting at the pain of some of his wounds. He tried to fall through the doorway but Dark grabbed his neck from behind with a scorching hand. The room suddenly fell backwards, and the door closed as they spun around in circles. Virgil closed his eyes, wishing desperately that everything could just stop.

And then it did.

The room froze abruptly, and Virgil opened his eyes. To his surprise, he found himself in his own bedroom. He tried to move up from the ground but Dark beat him to it, grabbing his arm and yanking Virgil to his feet.

“Where are we?! What did you do?” Dark didn’t let Virgil answer, marching over to his door and throwing it open. He glanced out into the mindscape, then began to chuckle slightly. He looked down at Virgil. “This is your home, isn’t it?”

Virgil shrugged. “Yup.” Dark grinned, shoving Virgil into the hall and down the stairs. He conjured a blade and stuck it up to Virgil’s neck as they crept down the staircase.

“Fool.” As they got closer to the living room, Virgil could hear the sides as they argued with each other.

“That is an even more nonsensical proposal than Roman! What do you suggest, that we overturn every single stone in Roman’s kingdom?? Do you know how much time that would-”

“Yeah but we could get all of the fairies and subjects and cute little creatures and...Virgil!” Patton yelped in surprise when he noticed the anxious side standing in his usual spot. Virgil moved to wave at Patton but Dark grabbed Virgil’s arm again. When Virgil didn’t react to his hell touch, the ego looked down. To Dark’s surprise, his hoodie seemed to have been repaired and his touch wasn’t burning through it. Before Dark could react to this fact, Virgil teleported over to Patton and hugged him. 

“How-” Dark took another step down the stairs but was met with the point of Roman’s sword.

“Are you ok, kiddo?” Patton held Virgil’s face, checking him over.

“All healed up now, pops.” Virgil chuckled as Patton kissed his forehead. Dark growled, pushing Roman’s sword out of his face. Roman just placed it right back, and in return Dark slashed at him with his dagger. Roman didn’t flinch, rolling his eyes dramatically. Dark looked down at Roman’s chest to find it unharmed.

“Cool it with the attitude. Even I’m not as extra as you are.” Roman scoffed as Dark shoved him aside, pointing at Virgil.

“You may be healed but it was a grave mistake to bring me here.” Dark gestured to his surroundings, grinning. “Now I’m in Sanders’s mind. I can do whatever I wish to him.” Dark’s words didn’t have the impact that he desired. The four sides just looked at him, before Virgil shrugged.

“Go ahead, then.” Virgil crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow.

“What-”

Logan interrupted Dark, chuckling. “I do not know what you expected, Darkiplier, but does this look like a control room to you?” Logan adjusted his glasses, continuing, “Take a good look at your surroundings and tell me how you plan on doing whatever you were going to do, enslave him, torture him, or anything else you had in mind. Do you see a control panel? A machine that puppeteers him? I think not.” Dark shook his head, pointing at Roman.

“You said that you control his dreams and aspirations. Do you not tell him what he wants, what he-” 

“It is certainly not that simple.” Roman interrupted, leaning on his sword. 

Logan continued, “I do not think you have a complete understanding of what we do and who we are. We are not little people inside of Thomas’ head. We are cogs of a well-oiled machine that work to keep him in balance and on the right track. Our jobs are to protect, not to control.”

Patton nodded, “Yeah! Lots of the time Thomas wants to disagree with us or do something else, and that’s his choice.”

Virgil stuffed his hands in his hoodie pockets. “Thomas is the boss. Not us.” Dark gritted his teeth and thrust his hand forward, spreading his aura over the room and the sides. 

He glared at them all, forcing his will upon them. “I can control Thomas if I control you.” The sides looked at each other, then at Logan.

Logan smiled. “Your manipulation does not work on us because we are not real people. We are far closer to figments of Thomas’s imagination than human. We do not have real minds that you can control, and therefore you hold no sway.” He stepped closer to Dark, leaning closer to his face with his hands behind his back. “Go ahead, attempt to manipulate a concept, Darkiplier. I am positive you will yield better results.” Dark seethed with fury, his form pulsing and shifting violently. His aura was turning the room darker, trying to smother everything inside. His anger would’ve turned the entire mindscape black if it hadn’t been for a snarky voice coming from behind him.

“Jeez. Who isn't having a temper tantrum down here?” Dark turned around to see another side in a floor-length robe. His hair was tied up in hair curlers and his face was covered by a green face mask. Well, at least one side was. The other half of his face was plated with scales that went all the way back to his ear. He put one hand on his hip while the other rested on his banister. “Oh yeah. You're totally not that asshole, aren't you?” He turned to look at the other sides, gesturing with both of his manicured hands at Dark. “Why isn't he here? Thomas absolutely deserves this filth in his head.” The sides chuckled as Dark just stared at Deceit, trying to decipher him. “Take a picture, pretty face. It won't last long.” 

Virgil shook his head with a smile on his face as he walked over to Dark and grabbed the sleeve of his shirt. “We were just leaving, Deceit.” Dark slapped Virgil's hand away, grinning up at the newest side. This might be a real breakthrough.

“Deceit?” Virgil tried to grab Dark again but the ego paced forward. “My name is Darkiplier. You must embody lies and trickery, hmm? Broken promises, cunning deceptions? Thomas must really despise you.” Virgil froze. He retracted his hand, moving his eyes to look into Deceit's mismatched ones. Deceit cocked his head, forming his words in his head before he spoke them.

“Is that what do you think?” Deceit’s words were not mismatched. Virgil stepped back, as did the rest of the sides. 

Dark didn’t notice, pressing forward with renewed vigor, “Yes. And I know you didn’t wish to look this way. But your creator Thomas scarred you, didn’t he? He marked your face to be as hideous as a beast to represent a part of himself he hated, didn’t he? You're a nuisance to him, aren't you?” The side’s looked at each other, eyes wide. Deceit chuckled, shaking his head.

“Yes.” The way he spoke the line sent shivers through Virgil. He grabbed Patton and teleported out of the room. Roman followed. Logan shook his head, moving past Dark and Deceit to climb the stairs. He turned around and opened his mouth, then shrugged and closed it, climbed the rest of the way up with a ghost of a smile at his lips.

Dark smiled. “Your fellow sides are fearful of the power you possess. I know we can-”

“You’ve told a lot of lies in your time, haven’t you Damien?” Deceit let go of the bannister and took a step down the stairs. When his foot touched the carpeted platform, a yellow ring shot up from his ankle, changing him. His robe disappeared, replaced by his black attire and cape. The line of yellow reached his face, removing the face mask. Deceit brought his hand out from under his cape, revealing his bowler hat. He placed it on his head with a flourish, never letting his eyes move from Dark’s flickering form.

“I’m sorry?” Dark looked around as another yellow ring burst from Deceit’s feet, removing their surroundings entirely. Deceit stepped down onto solid ground and the staircase morphed and melted into the blackness of their surroundings.

“You heard me. I didn’t mean to be rude, but since you were currently identifying as male that is the name I chose.” Deceit began to circle Dark, adjusting his yellow gloves on his wrists. “Would you have preferred Celine?” Dark sucked in a breath as his aura split at the seams, red and blue separating for a moment before coming back together. Deceit rolled one of his eyes. The snake eye sat perfectly still, unnerving Dark with it’s glare. “Which is it then? I can’t very well call you ‘House Demon’ now can I?”

Dark spun around slowly, watching the snake circle its prey. “How did you know those names?”

Deceit shrugged. “You lied.” Dark felt his anger boiling up. How dare he?! How dare he make a fool out of him?! He lunged at Deceit, grabbing his neck in a vice-like grip. But Deceit's voice came from behind him, and Dark suddenly found his fist empty. “I'm going to cut to the chase, Damien.” Dark spun around, but couldn't see the side anywhere. “I don't like you. I don't like what you've been trying to do.” Dark watched as the scene changed, and Deceit's voice echoed in the darkness, “You fancy yourself a manipulator?”

Dark was standing in front of a mirror. A fist beat on the glass from the other side, pleading for him to let them out. The pleading changed to screaming, which gradually changed into the intense ringing that Dark always carried with him. He covered his ears. When that didn't work Dark picked up the cane that sat under the mirror and tried to strike the glass with it. His swing went through smoke. Dark tried to regain his balance but started falling, clawing at nothingness for an agonizing amount of time until he landed stiffly in a chair. He and a person with a clouded face were sitting at a table, looking into a crystal ball. Dark flinched when the person looked up to meet her-his eyes. He opened her mouth to speak but his voice was drowned out by the clap of thunder in her ears. Dark's chair was yanked backwards, and he spun in a spiral until he landed on his feet in a long hallway. He looked forward to see William with gun raised. 

“Wil-” 

BANG

Dark looked down, and sure enough he found that he was bleeding. He looked back up to William, and watched as his face morphed into that of Deceit. Dark's entire being was threatening to collapse. His blue and red doubles argued around him, no longer looking the same. 

Deceit shook his head. “You are so narrow minded.” The side began circling again, but this time Dark didn't have the capacity to follow. “You keep the lies and hate and fester them inside of you. You make me sick, trying to convert others to your pitiful existence full of malice.” 

Dark blinked, trying to sift through the pain he was feeling. “But… surely you don't belong with your fellow sides. Your core can only bring harm to your creator. He doesn't want or care about you.” Dark tried one last time to reach out with his aura, but the blue and red glitchy mess that crackled weakly on the floor was absolutely pitiful.

“I don't need to see lies to know that is one.” Deceit came back around, stopping in front of Dark and staring into the black expanse. “You know what your problem is, Damien?” Deceit's eyes flicked over to Dark, though his head did not move. “You can't comprehend that we are a family. That we guide and lead Thomas in the right direction. That I am a part of that process.”

Dark shook his head. “But-”

Deceit appeared next to Dark's ear, chuckling as Dark flinched. “But what? I'm hideous? I can't possibly be a good guy with a face like this, can I?” Deceit shrugged. “Well, first, fuck you. And second, bitch, at least I'm prettier than you right now.”

Dark huffed in frustration, shoving Deceit away from him and clenching his hands. “You are lies! You are a tool that is used to bend the minds and twist the will of others! How can you be content with that?!” Dark didn't even try to control his flickering colors as they exploded into shards around him, splattering across the empty space and blinking in and out of existence as they twisted and danced with each other. Deceit's eyes narrowed.

“You will not judge me based on my name alone.” Dark took a step back as Deceit seemed to grow. “I’m not here to hurt Thomas. Why would someone like that even exist in his mind?” Deceit smiled, showing a pair of glittering fangs that seemed to give off a light of their own. “I am a protector, a preserving impulse.” Dark tripped, making him fall on his back as Deceit surged forward, grabbing his shirt. “And I don't appreciate it when people think I exist to hurt my friends.” 

Dark paled as Deceit's face seemed to come unhinged, opening wide enough to devour the ego whole. “Never touch a member of my family ever again. Next time I won't go so easy.” Dark screamed as Deceit lifted him up high, then dropped him into the wide cavern that was his mouth. “See you, Damien.”


	10. Friendly Arguments

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack, Mark and Thomas need to find a way to get Dark out of Thomas's mindscape. A solution surfaces in a certain Glitch Bitch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will probably be the last! I hope you like this one, even though it's short.
> 
> Have a lovely break everybody! <3

The living room was as full as it had ever been. Party celebrations had come to a screeching halt as Thomas was rushed downstairs to find a solution to his predicament. But no one seemed to know how to evict Dark from his current resting place.

“Well I don't fucking know! Just do what you do! Teleport or something!” Jack pointed accusingly at Anti's chest as the ego put his hands up in frustration. 

“Why should I care about a mess that I'm not even involved in?!” Anti put a hand on his hip, pointing his knife at Jack. “And what do ya mean, 'teleport?’ How would I get into his Mindscape without being there before?!”

Jack crossed his arms, leaning forward threateningly. “You've been inside mine! Why is he so different?! They already mentioned it's like another dimension or whatever. You've been to other dimensions before.”

Other arguments of the same calibre were going around the whole room, with egos from both spectrums putting up ideas. Marvin, Jackieboy Man, and JJ were brainstorming in one of the corners while the Jim Twins butted in periodically. Many of Mark's ego's simply didn't care, complaining about the commotion or that they didn't get any food yet. This was blamed on Chase, who had run off after a particularly biting remark from Ed Edgar. This of course had been met with the fury of Bing, who had subsequently dragged the mustached ego by his ponytail to apologise. Thomas was trying to speak with both the doctors, sighing as they bickered between each other.

“Vell how vould you know?? You haven't been proposing any good ideaz!” 

Dr. Iplier rolled his eyes, poking at the septic ego's chest. “You call what you just said, ‘an idea?’ HA! That was more like the useless organs I throw away during surgery.”

Henrik put his hands up, shaking his head. “Vat the fuck are you throwing avay during mozahfucking SURGERY? Are you even a real doctah?!”

Dr. Iplier leaned in close, narrowing his eyes. “I could ask the same of you, bitch.” Henrik mirrored the gesture, pointing to the pin on his lapel that read: “100% Real Doctor.”

“Read zah pin, Edward. Or are you illiterate az vell az stupid?!” While Dr. Iplier was decking Schneeplestein in the face, Mark was trying to speak to the Host.

“Are you sure you can't narrate Dark back here?”

“The Host regretfully informs Markiplier that his powers have already been stretched too thin as of this evening. The Host does not want to strain himself too much. He apologizes to Markiplier, but tells him that there is likely nothing to worry about.” Mark watched as the Host walked away, shaking his head as Thomas approached him.

“Still nothing?” 

Mark nodded. “Our best bet right now is Anti. He's the most powerful dimension traveler that we have but from the looks of things…” The two YouTubers glanced over to Jack and Anti, who were still yelling at each other heatedly. “...he doesn’t want to help.”

Thomas closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them with a huff. “They still aren't speaking to me. I don't know what's happening up there.” 

Mark scoffed. “Most likely going through the details with Dark. He likes to play up his deals once egos agree with him.” 

Thomas snapped his head back up, offended. “Hey! My sides aren't like that. They're probably… trying to find a way to get him out as we speak.”

Mark looked away. “Let's hope so.” Jack approached the two of them, a slight grin on his face.

“You two are never gonna believe this.” Jack turned around as Anti sauntered over, looking bored.

“Whatever. I'm just curious about what my newest puppet looks like from the inside.” Mark looked over Anti's shoulder to see Robbie, rubbing his blanket on his face as he giggled at something Marvin had said. Anti noticed Mark's smile, averting his eyes. “Let's just get this over with.” Anti put his hand forward, brushing Thomas's chest with his fingers. He tilted his head to the side in curiosity. “Huh. Interesting.” He moved his hand up to Thomas's head, giggling. “This might hurt a lot.” Then, Anti fizzled out of existence. 

Anti appeared in a dark room. He wiped sweat from his brow as his body adjusted to his new surroundings. 

“What are you doing here?” Anti turned around just a bit too late as a side tackled him to the floor, pinning his wrists down with unearthly strength. Anti tried to free himself but found he could not. His eyes widened, finally turning to look at the side who seemed to have the strength of Jackieboy Man. Anti stared into the racoon eyes of Virgil, chuckling a bit at the Side's piercing glare.

“Calm down hot stuff. I'm here to help you guys out.” Anti giggled again when the Side's face went red. 

“Wh-what?” 

“I said…” Anti glitched out of Virgil's grasp, walking towards the door. “I'm gonna help you get rid of Dark, pretty boy.” Anti winked, making the side blush again. Despite this, Virgil teleported after him, pinning him to his door.

“I don't believe you-” Virgil’s words froze as Anti leaned closer.

“What’s there to believe?” Their positions switched with a glitch, this time with Anti's knife at Virgil's throat. “Dark’s here, so they sent me in to get him out.” He pressed the knife a hair closer. “Would you rather he stayed?” Anti got caught off guard when Virgil kneed him in the gut, then grabbed his knife arm and flipped him onto the ground. Anti gasped for breath as Virgil's smug grin appeared, upside down from his perspective. 

“We've got someone who's handling it, ‘hot stuff.’”


	11. The Good Guys

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Please read the note at the bottom, because I have a question for you!

With nothing left to do but wait, the rest of the egos went back to their normal conversations. Every now and then, one of them would glance over to the three YouTubers sitting in the corner. But when nothing seemed to have changed, they returned to speaking. 

Thomas felt a tug. “Deceit?” His voice caused the room to silence again. “Why now?” Thomas tried to move to his feet, but was suddenly jerked forward, into the middle of the carpet. His body flickered with the red and blue outline, causing Mark and Jack to take a step back. Thomas yelped as his body was flung in another direction. This time, he got to his feet, looking at his hands and arms as they shifted from red, blue, and grey. “What the-” His sentence was cut off by a gurgled cry of surprise as an entity was thrown from his body and onto the ground. As Dark heaved in breaths and his blue and red shells flickered around the room a second person appeared. The Side walked up to Dark's kneeling face and stood, staring down at the beaten ego. Dark looked up slowly, breath stopping at Deceit's snake-like eye condemning him.

“Boo.” Dark scrambled to his feet, shaking his head as he found he couldn't look away from the horrible stare. Deceit's face showed only hatred, with a sliver of mischief. “I made myself clear, didn't I?” Dark nodded, gulping. Deceit let the humor drain from his face, and for a split second Dark saw massive fangs dripping with venom and blood, coming for his throat. Deceit jerked his head to the exit. Dark didn't need any more prompting, tripping over himself as he fled the room. Thomas stumbled over to Deceit, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Thanks man.”

Deceit smiled at Thomas, bowing his head. “It wasn't my pleasure.”

After a moment Thomas frowned. “Hey. If you took care of Dark then where's Anti?” 

“Right here.” Thomas looked up to see Virgil, carrying the septic ego on his shoulder. He dropped Anti to the floor, rolling his eyes when Anti jumped to his feet and leaned into Virgil's face. He winked, booping Virgil on the nose as he sauntered back to the crowd of egos.

“It was fun Angel Boy. Hope to fight again sometime.” Anti giggled, waving at Virgil with his knife as he joined Robbie on the couch. Virgil noticed the lingering stares of the egos and closed in on himself, walking over to Deceit who was also getting some looks. 

Jack sighed as Roman, Patton, and Logan jumped up out of knowhere. “What the everloving hell just happened?” 

Mark scratched his beard, shaking his head at the new side. “They actually… got rid of Dark.”

Jack whistled. “More like made him shit his pants. Did you see how fast he ran away?”

Mark nodded. “I guess… we were wrong about them.”

“Damn straight.” Virgil and Deceit had walked over to the two gamers. Now that the other three sides were out as well there was less attention on them. Virgil pointed a finger in Mark's chest, scoffing, “I didn't appreciate you guys suspecting us of trying to take over or whatever.” 

Deceit nodded, inspecting his gloves for filth. “If you can't tell, we don't take our jobs seriously. We don't work hard, and we absolutely liked it when you told Thomas that we shouldn't be trusted.” Jack and Mark were at a loss for words. They glanced between each other, then back at the sides.

Virgil rolled his eyes. “Well now it's awkward.” He looked over at Thomas, smiling a little. He turned back to the other YouTubers. “Let's hope this turns into a friendship, okay? It'd be nice to have other people to talk to for once.” 

Deceit put his hands on his hips. “What Virgil isn't trying to say is, screw this up.” Deceit scoffed and Virgil chuckled when it looked like Mark and Jack were having a hard time deciphering what he was saying. 

Virgil nudged Mark in the shoulder. “You'll figure it out.” The two of them walked back to Thomas, finding most everyone was fixated on Patton and a Jack ego with purple hair. The cloudy-eyed ego approached Patton slowly, seemingly sniffing the air in front of him. The ego stopped in his tracks, his mouth hanging open. Then, he lunged at Patton, putting his arms around the fatherly side. Upon contact, the little ego let out the cutest laugh that Virgil had ever heard. He stepped back, grabbing Patton's hands as his giggles redoubled. He squished Patton's cheeks as tiny tears sprang to his eyes, laughing louder and louder as he held Patton's surprised gaze.

“So… good!! So… good!!!” The Jack ego went back to hugging Patton, putting his arms around Patton's body and stuffing his face into his polo. 

Anti approached them, shaking his head. “What's up, Robbie?” Robbie jumped up and down, grabbing Anti's hand and pointing to Patton.

“Feel! Feel it!” Robbie let his head loll to the side, falling on Patton's shoulder. He let out another string of giggles, and more happy tears escaped him. 

Anti chuckled. “I can't feel what you can, Robbie.” Upon some curious looks from the rest of the sides, Anti elaborated. “Robbie's an empath. Never had this big of a reaction before, though.” 

Patton gasped, pulling away from the zombie. “You're Robbie! You're the birthday boy?!” He snapped his fingers, and a pretty blue crown appeared on Robbie's head. “Why weren't you wearing your crown? You need to be a King on your special day!” 

While Patton and Robbie gushed over each other, Logan turned to Virgil. “Quite interesting. Can you imagine what kind of emotional range-”

“The Host interrupts the Side Logic, and apologizes to both Side Logic and Side Anxiety for scaring them. He wants to let the Side Anxiety know that Wilford Warfstache is about to come down the stairs. The Host tells Side Anxiety that he better act quickly. As The Host is speaking…”

Virgil looked up quickly, seeing that Wilford's presence had already been made known. Everyone looked between Wilford and Virgil, wincing when Wilford missed a step in his surprise, falling down several more stairs until he landed in a crumpled heap at the bottom. Virgil was beside Wilford the next moment, hands already purple. Wilford tried to break away at first, his pleas punctuated with several apologies and self-destructive thoughts. But soon, as purple began to seep out of Wilford and back into Virgil's body, he calmed down.

Virgil stood up, wobbling a little. He turned to face the room again, stuffing his hands in his hoodie pockets. “He'll wake up soon.” He grinned, glancing between his famILY's faces. “Now, can we start the party already?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everybody! Obviously, this was the last chapter, so no more updates from this book. But, I am currently prewriting a bit of a Superhero AU with the Septic Egos! Would that be something you would read?
> 
> So tell me your thoughts! And for the last time, thank you for reading, take care of yourselves, and have a lovely day! <3


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